


If You Knock Me Down I Get The F*ck Back Up Again

by superwholockfangirl



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex loves his coffee, Alexander Hamilton Being Alexander Hamilton, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Black Lives Matter, Boys In Love, Crime Fighting, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, George Washington is a Dad, Happy Ending, Hurt Alexander Hamilton, Hurt/Comfort, John is a cop, M/M, Marquis de Lafayette is a Good Friend, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Other, Past Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, Police, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Slow Burn, Thomas Jefferson Being an Asshole, Washingdad, Washington is his captain, and Alex's father, at least kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:00:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28814550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superwholockfangirl/pseuds/superwholockfangirl
Summary: Detective John Laurens is called to a crime scene in the middle of the night. The victim, a 20year old college student named Alexander Hamilton, turns out to be a passionate attractive man that's hard to resist. While Alex has to deal with the ensuing trauma which doesn't only effect him but also the people that care about him, John is doing his best to investigate the case without getting too emotionally invested. Spoiler: He fails.//I'm pro Black Lives Matter and this story is rather crucial of the jurisdiction system
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton & George Washington, Alexander Hamilton & Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton & Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette & George Washington, Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette/Hercules Mulligan
Comments: 28
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys:) This is my first Hamilton fic. I've been writing on this for almost one and a half years by now and am still not finished but I need a little motivation for the last chapters, so I decided to start publishing what I have already. I'm not a native speaker, so there will probably be some mistakes that you're welcome to correct:)  
> I did my best to make the characters as authentic as possible, please, let me know if I succeeded;)

It was the pain that forced him back to consciousness. The throbbing beneath his temples and the stinging in his shoulder were almost masked out by the waves of pain exploding in his nether regions. He felt sick by the uncomfortable sticky sensation of his own blood seeping through his clothes and the feeling of hands clawing at him, holding him down, gripping him tight enough to leave prints. Nails were cutting into his skin and he wanted to scream and kick and fight, but he choked on his moans; voice dying in his throat and his body too weak to obey his orders.

The sound of sirens rung in his ears and added to the throbbing in his head. He tried to open his eyes, but the light blinded him and the pain made him feel sick. For the split of a second he thought he would throw up, however, a voice and a steady grip on his arms were enough of a distraction to make the nausea fade.

“ _Alexander? Mon petit lion! Comment ca va?”_

But the words made no sense to him and while Alex was still trying to pin down the muffled yet familiar voice, darkness was sinking in, ensnaring and successfully trapping him and until he knew it, he had fallen back asleep.

“Are you sure you get along on your own?”

“Yes, sir. I just arrived at the crime scene. Don’t worry, sir, I’ve got this.”, John assured his captain. His partner, Jefferson, had called in sick today – everybody knew he had caught the plague from his _friend_ James Madison even though they hadn’t owned up to the fact they were dating yet – and while this was the first time he was to investigate all on his own, he couldn’t bring himself to regret the absence of his colleague. The man was the most elitist dick ever to imagine.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you from work any further then. If you should find that this is too much work for you, tell me and I reassign Lee to you.”

In this moment, John was relived Captain Washington couldn’t see his face as for the grimace he pulled at the mention of Detective Charles Lee. It was a wonder he hadn’t shot him in the side yet, considering the fact there were constantly guns in reach. “Thank you, but I don’t think that’ll be necessary. You’ll have my report on time, sir.”, he ended the call exciting the car.

It was a starless November night. John wrapped his cloak tightly around himself as he immediately felt the chill set into his bones. He found himself in a small alley between an industrial and a housing area consisting of projects. The street was poorly lit by a few streetlamps, most of them broken, the flickering light throwing shadows and letting them disappear again. He was surrounded by cold gray walls and dark forgotten windows that created an impersonal yet unsettling feeling deep in his stomach.

A few yards in front of him was where the spectacle began. Yellow glowing tape marked the crime scene. A handful of uniformed police officers were running around talking with the few bystanders – potential witnesses, John reminded himself- behind the tape while a forensic scientist team searched for DNA traces and the sound of sirens faded away in the distance.

Sirens always were a good sign. It meant that the victim was still alive and if nothing else, John found this greatly reassuring. Not only did having a witness make his job a lot easier in most cases, no, the truth was there was merely so much one could do when there was a body. Someone was dead and someone had to pay for their deed; made two lives that went to waste and a lot of grieve, confusion and anger among the bereaved. John knew that a lot of his colleagues assigned a high value to giving the family assurance, he, however, thought that certainty was a humble solatium for a live.

He showed the officer in front of the barrier his ID that identified him as a detective. The man nodded warily at him taking a sip from his disposable cup that considering his slacked posture and heavy eyelids hopefully was filled with coffee. John had to fight the impulse to roll his eyes. He’d never understood how one could be so indifferent; someone had been attacked right here minutes ago. The smell of blood was still in the air for heaven’s sake! An experience like this changed you forever and it should matter to everyone witnessing it.

He bit back a passive aggressive comment about the disposable plastic cup deciding to save his You’re Going to Destroy Our Planet speech for another night and settled for a more professional “What have we got here?”

The officer in his mid-thirties glanced on the small notepad in his hands. “The male victim has been identified as the 20-year-old Alexander Hamilton. He was assaulted by an unknown man on his way home. The evidence suggests that he was attacked from behind, hit with a glass bottle and raped. His roommate or his boyfriend, I had trouble following him since he was screaming repeatedly in French, searched for him when he didn’t come home in time.”

Again, the great disinterest with which the man presented him the facts was shocking. John swallowed. _Raped_. He had never investigated in a rape case before and slowly he began to doubt his ability to deal with the situation. After all, he was only a detective since a few months and despite the lectures and presentations about the sensitive questioning of victims, he felt like he wasn’t qualified for this task at all. “How bad are his injuries?”

“He’ll survive it. The paramedics said something about a concussion, maybe a fracture and a few scratches.”

John nodded slowly sympathy churning deep in his gut. “Thank you.”, he mumbled before turning away in order to examine the crime scene.

His stomach dropped as he took notice of the red stains on the wall and shards of glass dappled with blood on the ground. He got out his gloves and the flashlight and started to inspect the corners along the wall with the lamp. “Did you already take pictures of everything?”, he asked a by standing forensic scientist who nodded and handed him a transparent bag in which he put the broken off bottleneck.

About five yards away, he found a crumpled condom. It appeared that the perpetrator had pulled it off after _finishing_ and thrown it away, either not caring that it might be found or not thinking that the investigators would actually work that thoroughly. “Hey!”, he called one of the men over. “Take this to the lab as soon as possible. If we’re lucky we already have the bastard in the system!”, he said despite better knowledge. Reoffenders usually wouldn’t leave their DNA on a crime scene, not when they knew they could easily be identified by it.

“Do we have any witnesses apart from the man that found our victim?” He asked already knowing the answer.

“Not that we know of. Nobody reported anything and most of the people didn’t open up when we knocked on their doors to question them.”

John sighed glancing at his clock. It was already close to 1a.m and this wasn’t exactly the safest area, so he wasn’t surprised. “We’ll try it again tomorrow then.”, he decided.

He took another twenty minutes or so to inspect the crime scene thoroughly and collect shards of glass, a few cigarette butts that might or might not have something to do with the attack and a few hairs that were found among the shards.

Finally, he turned back to the officer he’d spoken with in the beginning. “What else do we know?”

The man shrugged as he looked down at his by now empty cup. Unlike the poor boy that had been raped and violated right here only an hour ago, the coffee in fact seemed to evoke emotions. “The friend drove with him to the hospital. The boy was unconscious, so he didn’t say anything. We arrived in about the same time as the paramedics did. But”, he hesitated, “you should probably know he works at _Kings &Queens_. A strip club, sir. So…”

John clenched his hands into fists as he felt anger threaten to overwhelm him. “So what?”, he spat watching with satisfaction how the officer stepped back in shock at his harsh tone, “Are you suggesting that Mr. Hamilton _wanted_ to get knocked out, raped and then left on the cold ground for anyone to see?”

“Why would a decent young man work in such an establishment? That’s all I’m saying. No offense.”

_No offense, my ass!_ He wanted to scream some common sense and empathy into him so badly right now, maybe slapping him just hard enough on the head would actually... okay, slowly he began to understand Washington had been so concerned about him working without a partner. He inhaled deeply before looking at the man in front of him coldly. “I don’t want you anywhere near Mr. Hamilton, my crime scene or my investigation, understood? We don’t blame the victim and we don’t judge them either! Now go home and buy yourself a Thermos bottle before your consumption kills the planet!”

Laurens didn’t wait for a retort before he turned around and marched off. It was a shame there were so many ignorant prejudiced officers working for the police! He could certainly understand the grudge some people held against them. He was going to talk with Washington about another sensibility training tomorrow when he submitted his report. For now, he would talk to the victim and the friend that had found him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first meeting of Alex and John:)   
> Enjoy it and please leave me some feedback, I absolutely take constructive critism!

When Alex woke up, he found himself surrounded by the smell of disinfectant and the shimmering sound of the too bright overhead lights in his ears. He hated hospitals.

Someone was clutching onto his hand holding onto him for dear life and when he finally managed to successfully crack open his eyes, he found his best friend sitting in an uncomfortable looking plastic chair next to his bed staring at their intertwined fingers, eyes red rimmed from crying. Ignoring the pain that shot through his body when he moved, he squeezed the French man’s hand.

Lafayette’s head shot up so abruptly it made Alex dizzy. “ _Alexandré, mon petit ami! Tu vas bien_?”

“ _Je ne me suis jamais senti mieux_.”, he groaned propping himself up sluggishly despite his friend’s protest. A sharp pain cursed through his body when he shifted his weight. The look of sympathy and utter horror told him his friend knew about the extent of his injuries. A flush crept up his cheeks when he fully grasped the inevitable consequences of that.

“Do you remember what happened?”, Lafayette asked with a caution Alex wasn’t used from his usually so carefree friend.

“Yeah, I do.”, he said and probably for the first time in his life he was at a loss for words.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I was fucked by a knife.”, he deadpanned almost making the other one smile. Almost.

Lafayette shook their head and sat down on the bed carefully pulling the smaller boy into his arms. “God, you had me so worried, Alexander! When you didn’t come home and wouldn’t answer your phone, I just knew something happened! And then I saw you laying there on the ground in your own blood and- and I thought I lost you!”

“ _You_ found me?”, If his head wasn’t buried into Lafayette’s chest his friend would’ve seen all color drain from his face right now. He couldn’t, for the love of god imagine how it had to be for them to find him like this. Lafayette and he were as close as siblings could be – no matter if related by blood or not – and the idea of them finding him unconscious in a dark alley, his abused body telling of _all_ the crimes that had been committed on him, made him almost more furious than the deed itself. He didn’t want this to impact his future, their relationship. Lafayette wasn’t supposed to see him like this, hell, nobody was!

It was the thought of him being seen so helpless, so used, too weak to protect himself that embarrassed him and made his cheeks burn in shame. The sound of Lafayette’s heart beating wildly roared in his ears and he pressed closer to hide himself and reassure his friend, reminding him that he was in fact alive and well. Relatively, at least.

This was when it dawned upon him. He was _well_. His head didn’t hurt as much as it should considering he’d been knocked out. The fact he was in a hospital barely made him anxious at all and neither did the whole situation. Why wasn’t he freaking out about the circumstance that he’d been raped? For the first time, he noticed that he was actually feeling a little fuzzy headed. “What did they give me?”, his groan muffled by the taller one’s shirt.

“What?”, Lafayette pulled away.

“What did they give me? A sedative? Because this whole thing isn’t freaking me out as much as it should and I haven’t screamed at a single doctor yet.”

Lafayette frowned in confusion. “Isn’t that like something positive?”, they wondered.

Theoretically, it was. But it had been his brain that had brought him into this country, that allowed him to study journalism and politics at King’s college and that would help to make this world a better place one day. His mind had been the one thing he’d always been able to confide in and that had saved him countless of times. So, no, he’d rather take the pain and the anxiety than deal with this poor fussy version of himself. “I don’t like it.”, he simply stated, every explanation dying on his tongue when someone knocked at the door.

A young man entered. He had to be in his early, maybe mid-twenties. A bun kept his long brown locks from his face revealing beautifully tanned skin doted with freckles and two piercing green eyes. Definitely Alex’ type.

“Please tell me you’re the nurse.”, he mumbled at the same second cursing his brain for its current unusable state. He was usually good at flirting. This one had just been cheap.

John went bright red while Lafayette snorted in disbelieve at their friend. “Please don’t listen to him. The drugs are affecting his brain.”, they explained.

“Oh. Well, I’m not your nurse, I’m afraid. My name is John Laurens, I’m the responsible detective. Could I ask you a few questions, Mr. Hamilton?”

Alexander’s eyes hardened at this. He didn’t like cops. In fact, he hated the whole system and pretty much everyone who was part of it. “You called the cops?”, he turned to Lafayette.

“Well, no, I called an ambulance and they probably passed on the information.”, they sighed, “Look, I know you’re not the biggest fan of the police but you want that man to be caught, right? Besides, he’s cute and he has handcuffs. What else do you want?”, they grinned nudging their friend comfortingly.

Alex knew Lafayette was right. He might not like the way the jurisdiction worked but he didn’t want the guy who hurt him on the loose either. At least, he believed so. It was logical. God, he hated those drugs. “Are you a racist, a biphobe or a Donald Trump supporter?”, he asked turning back to the matter at hand, namely John Laurens, as his brain provided.

John looked at the young man in surprise. He’d already experienced a lot of bizarre things but never before had a victim asked about his political believes as a condition for a questioning. Still, it was a refreshing challenge and for a second he forgot his duty as a detective. “If it wasn’t for the immigrants that are doing the jobs nobody else wants to do, our economy would’ve collapsed already. My last boyfriend was bi and I certainly didn’t mind that. As for Donald Trump, I agree with him on the whole wall thing. Only that we don’t need it to keep the Mexicans out but to keep those motherfucking democratic republicans prisoners.”

“Wow, you two are made for each other.”, Lafayette commented making John blush again. “Now, stop debating about politics and come back to the actually pressing matter at hand.” They knew their friend. Alexander would rather spend the whole night talking about the defective healthcare system and the corruptive market economy than to face his latest trauma. Only that suppressing these memories wouldn’t work in the long run as his friend had to be aware of himself.

“Would you be willing to answer a few questions now, Mr. Hamilton?”, John inquired a little smile grazing his lips. He liked this man. Of course, that didn’t matter. After all, he’d just told an officer off for passing personal judgement on a victim and he wasn’t to do the same. Still, he couldn’t help but admire the spark in those deep brown eyes that had caught his interest right on spot. Alexander Hamilton had a fierceness within him that couldn’t be hidden by his beaten and bruised body which didn’t fail to fascinate him. Not to mention that he was quite attractive with his dark brown hair that reached down to his shoulders and those warm yet determined teddy bear eyes. He pushed the thought aside, shocked about himself for even thinking like this about a rape victim.

“I guess I can trust you to investigate objectively even if I still think the executive system is corrupt.”, Alex had to admit that maybe, just maybe not every cop was ruthless and prejudiced. Just 98% of them.

“Do you want me to stay or shall I wait outside?”, Lafayette asked gently squeezing his hand.

“Would you wait outside, please?”, he begged. It wouldn’t be easy to talk about this with a stranger but telling the detective in the presence of his best friend, someone he loved and adored and that was just like a brother to him, that was something he didn’t want to put any of them through. Laf didn’t need to know every detail, it would only change the way they saw him.

“Of course, _mon_ _petite_ _lion_.”, they said kissing their best friend on the cheek, “I’ll call back Hercules and talk to your doctor. I guess you want to be released this very day?”

Alex nodded. Slowly, the effect of the meds was wearing off and anxiety settled low in his stomach.

Lafayette hadn’t even reached the door when a man in his late forties dressed in a white coat appeared in the frame. “Alexander Hamilton?”

He nodded.

“I’m Dr. Hosack. Are you his relatives?”, the Doctor asked looking up from the file in his hands.

“Lafayette is my friend and my emergency contact. This is-“

“Detective Laurens, Sir. I’m investigating in this case.”

“Well,”, he adjusted his glasses looking back and forth between the three men, “I’m here to examine Mr. Hamilton. If he agrees with it, I’ll send you the results that might support your case later, but for now you should leave.”

Laurens decided that health prevailed over police work and stepped aside without protest. He could guess what they were going to examine and found that it was indeed better if he wasn’t around. “Of course. I’ll be in the waiting room.”

Alex nodded, almost sad to see him go. Talking to the detective had kept his mind occupied and distracted him from the uncomfortable situation of being in hospital after having been forcibly stripped down, had his ass being ripped apart and knocked out by a glass bottle. It had nothing to do with the stranger’s soft green eyes or his passionate appearance. It was the drugs. He would hold them accountable for thinking about the lean yet muscular frame of the detective that was trying to find out who raped him!

He definitely needed a distraction from this. He always made sure to have a task, something to keep him busy and focused. Five minutes without having something to do and his brain started questioning everyone and everything, one by one picking his life choices to pieces and leaving him a panicking anxious mess obsessed with the question of where he was going with his life.

“Well, I guess I should leave you to it, unless you-“

“Please stay!” he clutched his friend by the wrist only to immediately let go of him again in surprise. He hadn’t planned on doing this and he certainly hadn’t intended on sounding so desperate. He cleared his throat, “I mean, you can go. You should probably call Herc, he’s going to worry.”

Lafayette looked just as taken aback by their friend’s sudden outburst as Hamilton himself but in the next moment their eyes softened and they reached for the smaller boy’s hand squeezing it comfortingly. They could only imagine what their friend’s brain was putting him through in this very moment. Alexander’s mind had always been his biggest strength as well as his worst enemy depending on the circumstances. “It’s okay. I’ll be right here with you.”, they assured him, “Don’t worry about Hercules. He’s going to be here soon.”

Alex opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t protest. Well, there was a first time for everything.

“Very well. It’s good to have someone to help you through this, it’ll make the whole process easier.”, The Doctor whose presence Alex had almost forgotten about spoke up. He bit his lip trying his best not to let the words sink in and set into his mind. It wasn’t that he was wrong, Alex just didn’t want to think about it.

Like at a secret sign, two nurses entered equipped with cotton pads, disinfectant and some not exactly confidence-inspiring looking instruments Hamilton couldn’t identify. “We’re going to keep your legs covered for decency.”, the doctor explained while putting a light blanket over his lower half bringing the bed into a higher position by using the remote on the nightstand.

Alex’s face burned in shame and humiliation when the doc asked if he was ready and he could barely nod. Lafayette’s eyes were boring into his skin like they were intending on leaving visible marks as his legs were put up and spread exposing him to the knowing eyes of Dr. Hosack. He leaned unwittingly into his friend’s side. Smelling the expensive eau de cologne and feeling the familiar sensation of his friend’s dark locks tickling his cheeks made him feel a little bit less uncomfortable and a tad more grounded. The French man seemed to notice the calming effect their presence had on their younger friend and laid an arm around him getting as close to him as they could without disturbing the examination.

However, nothing could’ve prepared him for the feeling of a warm hand suddenly touching him _there_ , spreading him apart and a cold metal tool preaching him. He yelped in shock almost jumping of the bed.

“Shhh! _Mon_ _ami_ , all’s well.”, Lafayette tried to reassure him guiding their hands through his hair, “Is this really necessary?”, they asked turning to Dr. Hosack who gave him an apologetical look. 

Despite having his face buried into Laf’s chest, he could basically feel their pitying eyes on him.

“I’m afraid, it is. We could take a break, but I doubt this’ll make this easier for him in the long run.”

Alex closed his eyes deciding that he wasn’t there. In fact, he was in class tearing this Samuel Seabury dude apart like every Thursday in debate class. He could see Aaron rolling his eyes at him – the bastard secretly agreed with him, he just wouldn’t admit it- and Peggy grinning while sticking out her tongue at Adams. Oh, and he had to finish this paper Mr. King, his cruel English professor had assigned them! So far, he’d written about ten pages and was slowly coming to an end with his introduction meaning he’d have to write another forty pages at least. He started editing and marking paragraph after paragraph in his head, the whole essay splaying out in front of his eyes as he went to work. How many arguments should he cite to support his thesis? Fuck it, he’d write down everything. King wouldn’t be happy about it, but it was his own fault for being such a terrible teacher and not providing specific information for this assignment. Really, he should know better by now than not to limit the number of words. All his other professors had learned this by now.

“Alexander?”

Like seriously how many +75k essays did he have to hand in until that guy got it!? He would always complain about how much time it would take him to go through all these pages and claim that he had better things to do than to grade the work of his overeager students. How were his students supposed to know what he wanted from them if he refused to tell them?!

“Alex!”

Honestly, how come this guy was still allowed to teach?! Well, if he had to take a guess he’d say it probably had something to do with the college being named after his father. Those rich fucks always got away with everything, but not any longer. He would publicly denounce him by writing an-

“Alex!”, his train of thought was interrupted by someone calling his name and shaking his shoulder.

When he looked up, he found his friend’s worried eyes on him. The doctor was gone and Lafayette was awkwardly dangling from the edge of the bed, their arm still around his shoulders holding him in a half hug while he had his body pressed tightly into the older one’s chest. Something wet dropped onto his shaking hand, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion until he realized that he was in fact crying. He wiped his cheeks vigorously, but it was to no avail since the tears kept flowing.

“It’s over, _mon petit ami_.”, Lafayette tried to comfort him.

The medicine had definitely worn off at this point as Alex became hyper aware of his surroundings, his head throbbing in time with his accelerated heartbeat. He could feel his blood pumping through his veins at a speed that made him dizzy and lightheaded.

In the next moment, the door was ripped open revealing a very upset Hercules Mulligan. Alex could make out two voices talking to each other; however their words didn’t make sense to him.

He wasn’t aware of how much time had passed but the next thing he knew was that Hercules left and Laf positioned themselves in front of him in order to get his attention. Their voice was soft when they spoke: “Hercules is getting the doctor to sign your release papers, so you don’t have to spend the night here. Also, he brought you clothes. I will help you into them, so we can take you home as soon as possible, okay, _mon ami_?”

Alex knew there was something he had forgotten about, something he should remember, but for now he couldn’t dwell on this. He nodded before even fully processing his friend’s words. Home sounded so good to him right now.

If he wasn’t so out of it, he probably would’ve had the decency to be embarrassed at his best friend stripping him naked and throwing the hospital gown over the armrest of the uncomfortable plastic chair before helping him into his underwear, some jogging trousers and a way too big sweatshirt.

“The police will probably keep the clothes you wore this evening for a while to run tests and collect evidence and such.”, Lafayette told him but he could barely hear it.

His mind was racing and he was aching all over. Everything was going too fast yet too slow at the same time, the conflict in his statement making him stumble to his feet numbly and falling right over. The French man caught him in time carefully sitting him back onto the bed. “Give yourself a minute, _mon_ _cher_. We have to wait for the doctor anyways.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Tu vas bien? = How are you/ Are you alright?  
> *Je ne me suis jamais senti mieux = I have never been better


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi:) Thank you guys so muc for the positive feedback! I'll try to update this at least twice a week and please let me know how you like it:)

In the meanwhile, Hercules was searching for a certain detective. The waiting room was pretty much empty at 2.30 in the morning, so this task seemed doable. There was only one young man with long brown hair and freckles, so he guessed this had to be John Laurens. “Detective?”, he asked approaching him.

John had chosen a seat close to the door so he could be found quickly. He had expected Lafayette or Dr Hosack to come for him, so he was rather surprised when a tall man with dark skin color and a yellow bandana addressed him. “John Laurens, sir.”, he stood up extending his hand.

Oh, this guy appeared to have manners which was fairly uncommon among the police officers he knew. He shook hands with the young man before introducing himself. “I am Hercules Mulligan, a friend of Alex and Lafayette. I just arrived when the doctor was done and Alex is still very out of it. I don’t think he’ll be able to answer any of your questions right now.”

“Oh?”, John’s stomach dropped. He felt sorry about hearing this. He’d thought Mr. Hamilton was holding up pretty well regarding the circumstances but of course his reaction was more than understandable.

“Yes, he’s really… not himself right now. Lafayette asked me to let you know, so you don’t have to wait the whole night. We’re taking him home now because of his fear of hospitals, but you can come over tomorrow for questioning, I guess.”

“That sounds reasonable. Will one of you stay with him?”, he bit his lip. This was none of his business and he knew it. Still, he simply didn’t like the idea of the young man being alone right now. “I mean-“

“Yes, Laf and him actually share a flat and I live in the same house two apartments further. That’s how we met. We won’t leave him alone, don’t worry.”

“Good. I mean, I’m sorry, I know it’s not really my business. Would you be willing to give me the full name of Mr. Lafayette for the report I have to present my captain?”

“No prob. It’s good to know you actually care.”, Hercules couldn’t help the little grin spread on his lips when Laurens pulled out his small notepad and a pen in order to write down his friend’s name. He was going to need a bigger pad. “Also, the name is Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette.”

John looked up from his paper slowly putting the pen away. “I guess, I’ll ask him tomorrow for a copy of his ID.”

Hercules had to chuckle. “That would be probably for the best.”

“We found Mr. Hamilton’s ID. Is he still living in Mercer Street?”, he wanted to know.

Hercules could confirm this. He was surprised at how considered and kindly the detective was behaving towards them. He had gone to a few demonstrations with Alex, mainly because he was afraid of the kid getting himself killed and he had a cousin working for the NYPD. If he combined the experiences, he’d made so far with the news he kept reading about people of color being shot by policemen in the streets without reason, Laurens’ concern came definitely unexpected. His surprise grew even further when he was handed a card with his name and number.

“In case you or your friends need something, call me. My private number is on the back. Can I maybe give you a ride? It’s late already and y’all are probably exhausted.”, John couldn’t quiet explain why his need to help the young man was so urgent. Yes, the main reason he had become a detective was to help people, but this was different. He felt connected to the boy and his fate in some twisted way he couldn’t explain. Maybe it was the sparkle in Alexander’s eyes when he had addressed him. There was a fire burning inside the young man that had something… absorbing. Maybe it was the fear of seeing this fire burn out, extinguished by grief and fear if he didn’t found who was responsible for his pain.

“Thanks, man, but I went here by car. I appreciate the offer though. I let the other two know how concerned you were.”

“I see you tomorrow then.”, John smiled tiredly. He should probably be relieved he was allowed to go home and catch a few hours of sleep but truth be told, he wasn’t. He felt responsible. If he went to sleep and he missed something it would be his fault. Jefferson always told him he took everything too serious and got personally invested way too much but up to this day, John had never thought this to be true. He sighed. Well, it looked like he was in store for a long night.

\- - - -

“Are you ready, _mon_ _ami_?” It was more of a hypothetical question seeing that Lafayette was the one who was basically keeping him upright at this point but he nodded anyway exhaustion having taken over his body.

Lafayette helped him into the wheelchair one of the nurses had been kind enough to bring over.

He ignored the stinging pain that shot through his body as he sat down silently praying none of his friends had heard the almost quiet groan that escaped him as the they bumped against a threshold.

The light on the bright white hospital floors stung in his eyes and with every passing second, Alex could feel his head getting closer to bursting. Well, if there was a good place to have his skull explode it certainly was the hospital.

Hercules was walking in front of them guiding him and Laf to the parking lot where his car stood. While Lafayette helped Alex into the car, the older boy brought back the wheelchair. The Frenchman entered the car and immediately pulled their friend into his side.

“How is he?”, Hercules asked quietly once started the car.

“I’m still here!”, Alex protested albeit weakly.

“Right. Sorry, man. How are you feeling?”

Alex mumbled something incoherent, his words muffled by his friend’s sweater. Suddenly, he bolted up almost causing Hercules to drive the car into a dig. “The detective! I didn’t answer his questions! He wanted to talk to me about- about-“

“Alexander, relax! Herc spoke to him. The questioning can wait till tomorrow.”, Lafayette tried to reassure him.

“But-“

“It’s late, Alex. It’s better to put this off to tomorrow, so we all can get some sleep tonight, okay? He thought so too and even gave me his card with his number, so you could call him.”, he intentionally didn’t mention that Alex wasn’t be in a condition to actually make his testimony anyway right now. He would only take this as a challenge. The kid would never back down and he was fairly sure this inability would get him shot one day.

“Fine.”

By the time they’d reached the house, Alex’s legs were still so wobbly Lafayette basically had to carry him inside despite the younger boy’s protest. They could only shake their head about so much stubbornness as they grabbed their friend unceremoniously notwithstanding gently and carried him towards the house. Alex had always been a lightweight, so getting him inside wasn’t much of a problem for the muscular person even though the stairs were a little challenging. But Lafayette was in mother hen mood and everyone who knew them could tell you it was better not to intervene for the time being.

Therefore, Hercules didn’t even ask if he should take Alexander and simply opened the door to the stairwell for them. Luckily, they lived on the first floor and not further up.

“Herc, dear, can you reach into my trouser pocket and get out the keys?”

Any other day, a suggestive comment would’ve followed this prompt without a fail. Today, however, Hercules did as he was told without winking or slapping the Frenchman’s ass playfully. He unlocked the door and followed the two inside.

Lafayette immediately went into Alex’s room with the younger boy still in their arms closing the door behind them in order to let him know they weren’t to be bothered. He didn’t blame them. The two had a few things in common like growing up orphans and coming from foreign countries without their families which had strengthened their bond tremendously. When they had gotten to know each other two years ago, he’d actually believed them to be siblings because of their closeness. If there was someone who knew what Alex needed right now, it had to be Lafayette.

Deciding that staring at the closed door wouldn’t lead to anything, he decided to make tea. It would sooth everybody’s nerves and kept him from feeling useless. And guilty. He should’ve arranged his shifts thus he could accompany Alex on his way home. It wasn’t a secret after all that the streets behind the industrial area weren’t safe at night.

Meanwhile, Lafayette had put their friend down onto his bed desperately trying to figure out what was to do now. Alex had become quiet, almost compliant; something that scared them more than they cared to admit. They could deal with Alex screaming and crying or starting to break things, they had before but this was a completely new situation for them. For both of them, they reminded themselves.

“ _Mon_ _ami_?”, they waited until they had Alex looking at them with hazy eyes, “What can I do to help you?”

Alex responded with a simple shrug.

“Do you want to take a shower maybe?”, Lafayette suggested.

He did indeed feel dirty but unfortunately this wasn’t the kind of filth you could simply wash away and he knew that. Maybe he would’ve gone with it and if only to escape the sad pitying looks his friends kept giving him but the simple thought of having to undress right now was more than he could handle.

The older one sighed when Alex shook his head still not talking. “What about food? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Certainly you should drink something!”

“Just sleep.”, Alexander mumbled. He knew he probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep during the next few hours but he knew his friend had to be exhausted and once Lafayette was passed out, he could make a plan.

Lafayette’s eyes softened at this. It was very unlike Alex to go to bed on his own accord and they didn’t know if this was a good or a bad sign. Well, at least he was talking again. “That sounds like a good idea. Do you maybe want to sleep with me and Herc tonight? We could put all the matrasses and blankets on the floor in the living room and put on the TV to take your mind of these… things.”

He nodded weakly. Honestly, Alex would agree to pretty much everything right now if it meant he’d get the time he needed to put his thoughts in order. “Can I keep this on?”, he asked vaguely gesturing at the sweatshirt when he remembered he was still wearing the clothes Hercules had brought over and to whom they actually belonged. Undressing seemed like an unaccomplishable task right now and not only because his arms and legs felt like butter that had laid too long in the sun. No, just the very idea made his skin crawl.

“Of course! Mon vêtements es tu vêtements!”, Lafayette grinned in relieve. As long as he kept talking, they wouldn’t even question why it was important to the petite lion to wear their clothes. Quiet Alex scared them.

Alexander didn’t bother remarking that it was actually a Spanish proverb they was referring to. He was just about to express his gratefulness towards his friend when they heard the teakettle whistling. The flinch was involuntary and he bit his lip in embarrassment when he noticed Lafayette looking at him worriedly.

“I think Herc made us tea. How about we get you into the kitchen and you drink while we set up everything?”, they suggested.

Alex nodded but when Lafayette made a move to pick him up once again, he shook his head determinedly. “I can do this, Laf.”, he stated his voice surprisingly firm.

“I know you do, _mon_ _ami_.” They knew from experience how much the younger boy hated it to feel belittled and at least partly they could understand the reason behind that. Alex had survived so much. And he had accomplished so many things in his early teen years that even grownups often seemed to struggle with that the thought of slowing down had to sound ridiculous at times. Why should he take a break because of something as trivial as the flu when he’d taken care of his dying mother while being down with pneumonia himself in the past? Why work only four nights a week when he’d managed to hold three jobs at the same time before? Of course, Lafayette could tell Alex exactly why he was wrong in his stand, but even if they would never admit it, they got the logic behind his arguments. That didn’t mean that it didn’t drive them crazy at times when their dearest friend refused to let himself be helped though. “At least let me assist you!”

Alex had to admit that he appreciated the arm Lafayette offered him. He doubted he would’ve managed to keep himself upright without his help.

Hercules spun around when he heard the sound of a door closing. He opened his mouth ready to bombard Lafayette with questions when he realized they weren’t alone. Alex was clutching onto their arm tightly staggering towards him on weak legs.

“We heard the tea kettle going off.”, Lafayette explained when they saw the look of surprise their friend gave him. “Why don’t you sit down on the couch while I help Herc with the tea?”, they suggested gently guiding the smaller man to the couch.

Alex didn’t protest. He knew the two probably wanted to talk about how they were supposed to deal with him now and while he didn’t like it, he had to figure things out himself. His legs were put up and a woolen blanket was draped over his curled-up form before he could tell them that he didn’t need to be coddled.

“I’ll be right back.”, Lafayette promised before they dashed back into the kitchen.

He could hear the two speaking in hushed voices but wasn’t able to make out their words. Anyways, he had a pretty good idea of what they were saying. He must’ve zoned out for a few minutes because in the next moment Hercules was kneeling in front of him while Laf put down the tea concern written all over their faces.

“Laf told me we’re going to have a sleepover?”, Hercules smiled his tone light despite the graveness of the situation.

Alex shrugged. “If you’re up for it. Just try not to have Sex while I’m next to you.”

“No promises.”, Lafayette joked.

“We’ll wait till you’re asleep though.”

“How reassuring.”, he grumbled.

“Don’t worry, _mon_ _ami_.”, Lafayette reassured him ruffling his hair. They handed him a cup of tea smiling reassuringly as they did so as if to say ‘Everything’s going to be alright’. Alex wasn’t convinced.

They drank in silence. Like at a secret sign Lafayette and Hercules put their mugs down and got up to get matrasses, blankets and pillows from all over the house piling them up in the free space between couch and TV. Alex had to admit it looked rather cozy. Lafayette horded blankets to smother him in them when he was sick which was fairly often the case so they actually owned quiet a lot of them.

The TV was switched on, the volume turned onto a low setting as to not actively keep them from sleeping.

Once they were done arranging everything, Lafayette placed him between in the middle of their cuddle pile while Herc went to switch off the light. “Are you ready to go to sleep?”, they asked Alex who nodded letting his friend pull him into their side. Soon he felt like he was being suffocated by all the covers that Lafayette had stacked upon him and his best friend’s arm that sneaked around his waist holding him close.

Hercules had laid down next to him. He didn’t hug him not wanting to feel the younger boy cornered but was laying close enough to let Alex feel his calming presence. It didn’t take long until he was out like a light.

Alex could feel Lafayette on the other hand struggle to stay awake against him. Sighing he put his hand onto theirs squeezing it. “I’m okay. You can go to sleep.”, he tried to sooth them. He knew his best friend probably better than himself and knew what they were thinking about right now.

“But your nightmares…”

“I’ll be all right. Now go to sleep, you have a lecture at 11am where you should be somewhat awake.”, he pressed. Without success.

“Yeah, I’m definitely going to skip that. I’ll be too tired and I want to stay home with you.”, they yawned snuggling closer.

“Oh, _I’m_ going to classes.”, Alex stated, “I have an ongoing debate with Burr about press freedom I want to continue and I want to see the look on my profs face when I hand in the assignment two months early.”

“ _Mon_ _ami_ , sometimes you singlehandedly terrify me. Also, you have a concussion, two fractured rips and various bruises and cuts. Like, do you seriously think I’d let you leave the apartment even if you were able to make it outside? Not to mention that your cute detective boyfriend is going to visit us and you better be here when he comes because I for sure am not going to debate about politics with him.”

“I only wanted to make sure he isn’t a racist like that stupid officer at Pride last year!”, Alex huffed, “As for the other part, watch me!”

“Well, watching you won’t be hard because you’re not going anywhere!”

“Just you wait!”, he snorted. Yes, he was at least a month ahead in every single one of his courses, but there were always a million things he hadn’t done yet and he wasn’t exactly known for his patience. Also, he wasn’t going to sit there sulking the whole day with Lafayette looking at him like he was a kicked puppy.

Lafayette sighed. “We’ll see how you feel tomorrow, okay? For now, go to sleep and we’ll discuss everything later.”

Despite not knowing what there was to discuss as he’d already made up his mind about this, he nodded in awareness of the fact that he probably wouldn’t get his friend to sleep if he didn’t give into him.

“We get you through this somehow.”, Laf promised words tiredly slurring together.

Before Alex had the chance to answer, he found his friend had passed out against him, breath even and soothing in his ears. Together with Hercules’ silent snoring and the cackling of the TV, it created a lullaby tempting him to close his eyes and allow himself to give into the needs of his tired body. But as much as he was physically exhausted, his mind was wide awake and ready to go at it like a five-year-old on Red Bull.

He waited another five minutes until he was completely sure Lafayette was fast asleep before he disengaged himself from them and crawled to the small desk next to the window where his laptop stood. He checked one last time, however, both of his friends were still dead to the world when he opened his laptop ignoring the bright light stinging in his eyes. It was time to go to work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! Warning: graphic discription of violence in this chapter! If you get triggered by this, please skip this chhapter or at least the last part! Stay safe guys!

It was 5:40 o’clock in the morning when Alex finally decided it was enough. His head hurt like someone had tried to land a 520-ton plane on top of it, his eyes burned and he was shivering with cold and exhaustion so badly, he almost dropped his Laptop when he tried to close it. The first rays of sunshine were about to break through the half-closed curtains when he got up on weak legs and made his way over to the pile of blankets, pillows, arms and legs where he laid back into his old position.

He knew that in approximately twenty minutes, Hercules’ alarm clock on his phone would go off waking all of them. His friend would silently curse, apologize to them and quickly excuse himself because he didn’t want to be late to work. Lafayette would thank him for staying over and as soon as Hercules had left, they’d tell him it was still early and he should go back to sleep.

None of his friends so much as stirred when he got back underneath the blankets nuzzling into the space in between their limbs. The warmth of their soft bodies engulfed him making him feel like he hadn’t slept in years. Yawning he found that now that he’d figured out things for himself, he was as ready to face the coming day and the people that were aware of the situation as he could be. He was Alexander Hamilton. If you knocked him down, he’d get the fuck back up again. With this thought he drifted off. The familiarity of the comforting darkness much kinder to him than the reality accepted him with open arms, his body grateful for the much needed rest slumped bonelessly into is friend’s embrace as the world went dark and he knew about nothing.

When Hercules alarm went off fifteen minutes later, he and Lafayette both found Alex, usually the lightest sleeper ever to imagine, still soundly asleep between them.

“Poor kid.”, Herc remarked when he stood up, “You’ll take care of him, right? I’ll be back before noon if I find someone to take over my shift.”, he asked even though he knew the answer.

“Sure. I’ll let him sleep as long as possible. Use your key when you come back later in case he’s still asleep, okay?”

“Sure thing. I get you something to eat on my way back.”, he promised, “Can I burrow a fresh shirt from you?”, he gestured at his messy clothes.

“Of course. You know where my shed is, help yourself.”

Five minutes later, Hercules stumbled out of the door dressed in one of Lafayette’s blue shirts and his old ripped Jeans promising to be back as soon as possible. Sighing, Lafayette laid down again. They pressed closer against their friend listening to Alex breathing evenly and feeling the reassuring throbbing of his heartbeat against his fingertips. Only five minutes, they promised themselves as they let their eyes fell shut.

\- - - -

John knew he probably should’ve called beforehand but he hadn’t remembered to ask for a number yesterday and while he could easily figure it out as a detective, he would’ve had to drive downtown to get to the police station and honestly, after only five hours of sleep he was too tired to deal with the New York City traffic.

He had gotten four cups of coffee on his way guessing – completely correctly, by the way – that Hamilton and his friends could use the caffeine after the last night. At half past ten, he found himself in front of an apartment tower in Mercer street. It was a surprisingly good quarter for two students to live in, John thought when he made his way to the door. It was nothing fancy, but the front yards were neat and the houses appeared clean from the outside. John made a mental note to check for security cameras later to see if maybe somebody had stalked Alex in the past. If the attacker was familiar with his routine and his neighborhood, this might explain why he had been attacked on his way home rather than close to his house.

It didn’t take long until a very tired looking Lafayette answered the door letting him inside. John looked around. The flat wasn’t big but offered enough room for two people. The walls were hidden by a giant bookshelf stuffed with so many books, he couldn’t make out the wall color anymore. Never before had he seen such a huge book collection and he had been to libraries before. He managed to tear his gaze away from the books and found that they were actually standing in the living room. A TV stood in front of the wall, opposite to it was a comfortable cream-colored couch with a matching armchair and a small glass table. An expensive looking red carpet was covering most of the parquet floor making John wonder if Alex or his family had money. He frowned when he took notice of a heap of pillows and blankets hastily rolled up and pushed into the furthest corner. Did they sleep here?

He followed Lafayette into the open plan kitchen adjoining the living room where he offered them a cup of coffee which was gratefully accepted. The smallest floor branched off from the living room across the door containing three rooms.

“I’m afraid Alexander is still asleep.”, Lafayette apologized, “And I would rather not have to wake him since-“

“I smelled coffee.” A semi-conscious Alexander Hamilton suddenly stood in the doorframe wearing nothing but Lafayette’s old sweatshirt and his boxers while tiredly scratching his head. His hair was messy, several strands falling out of his ponytail and sticking into all directions from his head.

“Alex, _mon_ _ami_! You’re awake!”, Lafayette stated not sure how they were supposed to take the situation. “I’m glad you’re feeling well enough to be up even though your doctor put you on bedrest but you might want to get dressed before joining us-“

“I smelled coffee.”, Alex repeated oblivious to his friend’s hint or the fact they had a guest who was currently staring at him, cheeks flushed as he desperately tried to keep is eyes above his waist.

“Err, yes. I thought you might need it.”, John said after taking just a tick too long to answer for it to sound casual. Blushing he handed him the cup. “I didn’t know if you liked milk or sugar, but you can-“

Before he was able to finish his sentence, Alex had chucked down half of the hot fluid while Laurens watched him in awe.

“Alex is a caffeine addict. He’ll drink everything that keeps him awake, not caring what it tastes like.”, Lafayette explained, “Things get downright scary when he mixes Red Bull with coffee. I bribed most of the supermarkets here to not sell him energy drinks but somehow he keeps coming up with them.”

Wait a second, why did John think this was hot? This shouldn’t sound attractive; this man was a mess! “I- wow.”

“Well, at least you’re definitely on his good side now.”

Alex placed the now empty cup on the table. The hazy unfocused look in his eyes had cleared and he gazed at the two men in front of him in wonder. “Err hi?”

John cleared his throat. “Hi. Do you remember me from yesterday? I’m detective John Laurens.”

“Sure.”, he looked down at himself, “Why am I wearing no pants?”

“I love you, _mon_ _ami_ , but you really are a- how do you say?- human disaster.”, Lafayette chuckled in amusement, “You two sit down on the couch and I get you sweatpants and the pills the doctor prescribed you. Also, how is your head? Do you need painkillers?”

“How about you give me a family size package of ibuprofen and let me go to PolSci?”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. Now, onto the couch with you. Also, have some dignity and cover yourself!”, Lafayette ordered getting completely in the zone of their mother hen personality.

“Says the one who keeps cooking in the nude on a regular basis.”, Alex grumbled but complied his friend’s orders. There was no point in arguing with Lafayette when they got like this and he in fact felt a little unsteady on his legs for the time being.

“Not when we have guests. Well, guests other than Hercules for that matter. He never complains.”

“You fucked on the countertop again, didn’t you?”

Lafayette only winked, draping one of the woolen blankets over his knees not dignifying their friend with an answer.

“Thank you for the coffee.”, Alex said once he and John were alone sitting next to each other in awkward silence.

“Oh, of course. You’re welcome. I figured that was the least I could do.”, John smiled at him unsure of what to say. “Your friend, is he always err- like that?”

Alex snorted, “Yes, they are. You’ll get used to it.”

“They?”

“Yes, they’re nonbinary.”

“Oh. Cool.” What else was there to say? He knew he had to come back to the matter at hand, but something kept him from approaching this sensitive topic. He couldn’t explain why but he felt his stomach churning uncomfortably at the thought of bringing this up and upsetting the boy. Still, it was his job. “Mr. Hamilton? I really-“

“Alex.”

“What?”

“You brought me coffee. You can call me Alex.”

Wow, Lafayette hadn’t joked. This kid really loved his coffee. He knew Captain Washington always warned him not to get emotionally invested but he couldn’t decline such a genuine offer. “Well, Alex it is, then. If this makes it easier for you you can call me John. I mean, if this is okay, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”, he had begun to fiddle with his hands nervously. Maybe this was why he had been assigned to Jefferson, to balance out his awkwardness with his arrogance. 

Alex laughed. It was a warm and sincere one making John’s stomach tickle. “You’re something else, _John_.”

“Oh, I-?”

“You’re a little awkward, nice and very cute. Very unlike the cops I know. Not that I’m about to complain.”

John blushed deeply averting his gaze. Alex was too pretty to say things like that and he was too gay for this shit. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to flirt with me.”

“Well, firstly I wasn’t flirting, I was stating facts. I do that a lot. If I was actually flirting with you, you’d do a lot more than blushing right now.”, he winked, “Secondly, doing things I’m not supposed to do is pretty much my second nature.”

“He isn’t lying!”, Lafayette grinned dropping the sweatpants onto his lap and placing a glass of water together with a handful pills in front of him onto the desk.

“Well, fuck you, Laf!”

“I have Herc for that, thank you very much!”, they shot back grinning.

“Then go to your boyfriend!”, Alex grumbled but there was no real bite behind his words.

“I’m leaving you two to flirt as soon as I watched you taking your meds.”

“You’re such a Mum!”, he complained while John next to him blushed furiously.

“Don’t force me to call Geo-“, they were cut off by Alexander groaning throwing his head back. Knowing his friend, they hadn’t expected to finish their sentence either.

“You shouldn’t threaten me in the presence of a detective. Can you arrest him, John?”

John smiled at the amicable banter between the two friends. “I would, but considering everything I’ve seen so far, I doubt that would end well for you.” He didn’t even want to know what kind of stupid things Alexander was up to when there was no one stopping him beforehand. “Sorry.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”, Alex sighed. He had to admit that John wasn’t wrong. He probably would’ve accidentally starved himself by now if it wasn’t for his friend. The smug look on said friend’s face and the satisfied grin they gave him told him they were very much aware of this too. Exasperatedly, he threw his hands up in surrender. “Fine, I’ll take them! See?”, he reached for the pills disregarding the glass of water and swallowed them dry. “Are you satisfied now?”

“Very.”, they grinned, “I like you a lot, _monsieur_ Laurens! I’m going down to have Sex with our friend now who is not my boyfriend, by the way. See you later, _mes amies_!”, Lafayette grinned bending down in order to plant a kiss on Alexander’s cheek before they grabbed their keys and left.

“Wow, that was…”, John was at a loss for words.

“Yeah.”, Alex laughed, “They get like that occasionally. Also, they’re not actually going to have sex with Hercules right now.”

“How do you know?”

“He is at work right now and won’t be back until later. Also, Laf wouldn’t have needed the keys to his apartment if he was at home. They’re leaving because they know it’ll be easier for me this way.”

“You’re very familiar with each other.”, John observed. “It must be nice to have someone know you so well.”

“They’re my family and I’d die for them.”, Alex smiled warmly. It was true after all. He wouldn’t be where he was today without Lafayette. “Also, they’re a bastard and I hate them at times.”

John laughed. “I see.” He had been the same way with his siblings and the familiarity of the situation made his heart ache. It were moments like this that reminded him how much he actually missed his family and that he probably was to call them some time. _Get to the point, Laurens_! “M- Alex, I’m aware this isn’t easy for you, but I need to ask you a few questions if you feel like you’re in the state to answer them.”

The smile drained from his features, face becoming serious all of a sudden. He sighed recalling the events from last night. If there was one thing he really didn’t want to talk about it was this incident. Still, he stood with his plan. He had figured it all out tonight while Laf and Herc had been sleeping and decided that he would handle it like all the other bad things that happened to him and were impossible to avoid. Ready to fight, he would do everything to gain the upper hand and use all the negative emotions; the rage, the anxiety, the wrath, to rise beyond himself. He wouldn’t let this man break him. He would prove that he was stronger than the guy who had decided to turn his life upside down once again and he would cooperate to make sure he got caught and laugh in his face in court. “I’m ready.”, he spoke voice firm and determination written all over his features.

“So…”

_Alex knew he probably should wait for Hercules like he and Lafayette kept suggesting ever since he had started taking John Jay’s shifts who had fallen ill and was currently taking a long overdue cure but he refused to wait in the club for another hour until Hercules would get off work. His friend was doing a great job as a bouncer even though Alex was pretty sure he had only asked for this job to be able to keep an eye on him. However, he was perfectly capable of defending himself and even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t admit it anyway. Once his shift was over, he went towards the changing room to take a shower in order to get rid of the body glitter and get dressed. Once outside he said goodbye to his friend promising him to give Lafayette a kiss from him._

_“Are you sure you don’t want to wait or at least call a cab?”, Hercules asked worriedly._

_“You spend too much time with Laf!”, Alex grinned, “I’ll be fine. I always am.” They had this conversation every other day and while he slowly was getting tired of it, he had to admit it was nice having somebody worrying over him._

_“See you at home then.”_

_“Sure. See you later!”, Alex wrapped his jacket tightly around his frame protecting himself from the cold October wind. It had gotten cold lately. He started walking setting a fast pace remembering there was an important essay he had to finish and another one he was to rewrite until next Monday. Lafayette would scold him for working late again but hopefully they would be distracted for another hour or two with Hercules coming home. It was honest to god a miracle these two were fucking pretty much every night and yet hadn’t figured out their feelings for each other._

_Alex entered a barely lit alley. The flickering lights of the streetlamps made him feel like he was in a supernatural episode and he had to bite back a grin despite the uneasy feeling settling deep in his stomach. If Lafayette was with him right now, they’d get all excited and scream “Get the salt”. While the idea of his friend throwing rock salt on the street was usually enough to provoke a chuckle, today something kept him from laughing. He looked around nervously. Maybe it was just his anxiety acting up but he felt like there was something seriously wrong. Like he was being watched; trapped. He reached for his phone inside his pocket preparing to dial Lafayette’s number but it was already too late._

_The sound of footsteps behind him and then he was gripped and thrown against the cold wall face first. He opened his mouth to scream, anxiety taking over his body but a hand clamped over his lips muffling his yelling. A warm body pressed against him from behind, the smell of leather, oil and the most intrusive aftershave ever to imagine entered his nostrils. The scent sickened him and he tried to fight pushing against the body in the attempt to get away from it._

_“For once in your live keep your mouth shut!”, the man ordered angrily._

_His eyes went wide and he yelped in shock when a hand was suddenly pressing against his crotch unbuckling his belt. Oh god! The moment his pants dropped, he realized just how bad he was actually of. This wasn’t a robbery and this man didn’t want his money. “Let go of me! Let go!”, Alex screamed but even if his voice wasn’t muffled, he doubted anyone would’ve heard him or cared enough to call help for that matter._

_The next thing to come down was his underwear and Alex almost sobbed at the feeling of being touched and kneaded and prodded there. A finger pressed against him running it testing over the tight ring of muscles. The sound a fly being unzipped made him tense in horror. Alex fought him tooth and nail desperate tears running down his cheeks while at the same time trying to get ready for what was to happen next. Nothing, however, could’ve prepared him for the pain of being forcefully entered. He screamed out choking on his frantic sobs. The man groaned in his ear as he began to thrust in and out his body and if anything, Alex was sure he was never to forget this voice. Fingernails were digging into his hips, cutting his skin and making him bleed._

_“You need somebody to show you your place, whore!”_

_“Fuck you!”, Hamilton spit. The feeling of pride for talking back quickly subsided when a coarse hand gripped his dick and started to stroke him. His cheeks burned in shame and humiliation when the stranger’s doing didn’t leave him unaffected._

_“Dirty whore! You like this, you can’t deny it anymore! I’m in control of you now!”_

_His thrusting grew more and more erratic and while it was accompanied by increasing pain, Alex was almost grateful for it since the stroking stopped due to the man concentrating more and more on his own climax the closer he got._

_With a string of courses and a strangled groan he came inside of him and Alex actually gagged at the feeling. The man pulled out leaving him empty and used, the feeling of being ripped apart still very vivid in his mind. The hand was dropped and while Alex really wanted to scream right now, he couldn’t find the strength. Why even should he? It was too late. He briefly wondered if this was the end. Would this guy kill him now? Should he fight it or should he accept his fate? He had never expected to live past twenty anyway and if this was where it got him, he at least wouldn’t have to suffer for long._

_Before he could dwell on it, he was slammed brutally against the wall once again and then, he was hit by a blunt object. Pain exploded inside his head and the sound of glass shattering was the last thing he heard before he slumped to the ground, the world turning black._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys:) Thank you so much for all your sweet comments. In this capter John gets to know Alex a little bit more and next chapter will definetely feature WashingDad;)

Once done, Alex wiped his eyes knowing he had to look really pathetic right now. When he looked up at John however, he didn’t find the sickening look of pity in his eyes that he’d dreaded so much but pure genuine sympathy written all over his features. He swallowed. That was a first. John’s eyes were full of sincerity and compassion and if they were actually the window to the soul like his mother used to say this man had to be a saint.

He had no idea how long he’d stared at the detective like he was a seven headed unicorn but it had probably been long enough to make things awkward.

John cleared his throat. “I- Thank you for telling me this. I understand that this probably wasn’t easy for you, so thanks for trusting me enough.”

Alex chuckled to cover up for the fact he was actually tearing up at John’s words and the emotional situation itself. “Are you always getting that emotional over sob stories?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”, John had to admit. “My boss always tells me not to get personally invested, but I can’t help it. Having an opinion shouldn’t be a bad thing.”

That was a statement they could definitely agree on. “Laurens, I like you a lot.”, he grinned.

“Err- thank you. I- you- you’re pretty cool yourself.”, he stuttered feeling like an absolute marron for stumbling over his words like this. As a detective, he should be the confident composed one guiding Alex through this interview and encouraging him. Instead, he felt like a giddy teenager again about to be kissed for the first time. Not that this was about to happen! Alex was the victim in his investigation after all and there were at least half a dozen guidelines they would offend against. Not to speak of the moral aspect. Wait, why was he even thinking about this? He had to focus on his task! “You said you didn’t see the guy but do you maybe have an idea who would do something like this to you?”

“I can give you a list. Would you like to have it itemized by date or in alphabetical order?”

“Wait, are you serious?” What could a 20year old student do to piss off so many people? Okay, Alex appeared to be fairly unusual, granted, but it wasn’t like he was some kind of psychopath torturing animals and kicking puppies for fun.

“Well, you see, I have a big mouth and an opinion on everything. This in the age of social media isn’t exactly a good combination. I’m regularly roasting right-wing politicians and writing reviews to products, shops, restaurants, well actually pretty much everything.”, Alex tried to explain.

“Oh. Well, do you really think this might be behind this attack?”

Alex shrugged. “I don’t know, but this guy told me to shut my mouth for once in my live which, let’s face it, actually sounds a lot like me. One or two shops had to close after I wrote about them. Not that they didn’t deserve it. Like, one time Laf got a baguette from this new café and ended up with food poisoning. When I went there to talk to the chef, I barged into the kitchen and found the countertop covered in mold. I made a post, well, actually like fifteen and called for a boycott. Two months later they had to close.”

“Wow, how many followers do you have?”

“About thirty-five thousand on Twitter.”, Alex shrugged, “And it’s not only the internet. I kinda have the talent of making enemies wherever I go.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”, John offered face palming internally. “I mean, sometimes people just aren’t compatible.”

“Yeah, I kinda have a head-on personality. I know I can be a handful at times.”, Alex didn’t know why he was talking about this with someone he barely knew. And a cop no less. Okay, he’d always lacked social filters but this was different. He only hoped his instincts to trust this boy didn’t betray him.

“Personally, I prefer decisive people over indecisive people. I think your personality is lovely and you shouldn’t change anything about it.”, Laurens blushed at the knowing smirk Alex gave him. _Not now, gay thoughts_!

“Lovely, huh?”

“Shut up!”, he laughed cheeks red with embarrassment. “Anyway, I need more basic information about you. For my report, I mean. Not for myself.”

Alex chuckled. “Sure. I’m twenty, I like sunsets and going for long walks on the beach and in my free time I write romantic poems and make plans to take over the government.”, he winked.

A groan, “That wasn’t what I meant. Are there like any crazy ex-girlfriends or jealous boyfriends that might be important for the investigation?”

“Not really. My last girlfriend dumped me when she found out her sister liked me too. A pity, really but we’re all still friends and I see both of them on a regular basis. I can assure you that none of them had something to do with this. After the break up, my friends made me take a break and I had one or two one night stands I barely remember. I can’t give you their names but a very detailed description of how their hair looks in the early morning light.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your girlfriend.”

Alex yawned. The last hour had been draining and while he seldomly got more than five hours of sleep, today the medication added to the omnipresent feeling of sleep deprivation. “Maybe her loss is your luck.”

“Are you like this with everyone?”, Laurens wondered aloud.

“Only if they’re cute or I’m getting insecure.”, Alex blurted much to his own dismay. He turned red. Why had he said this? No that this wasn’t the truth but people weren’t actually supposed to know he used his humor and his charm to get in control of the situation. If they knew, the flirting and joking would be seen through and not have the same effect anymore. Stupid fucking painkillers! He would roast the producer later on Twitter.

“Oh.”, John realized, “ _Oh_. I see. I’m sorry if I-“

“No, you’re fine! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say this! It’s just those stupid pills that make me run my mouth even worse than usually. Please, let’s just ignore what I said.”

“Okay.”, he complied, “Do you maybe need a break before we continue? You look tired.”

“I’m always tired. Keep going!”

John felt like he should say something about this first statement but he didn’t know what. “What about your family?”

“What family?”, Alex huffed, “I’m an orphan.”

“Oh.” John’s stomach dropped. Hadn’t the poor boy been through enough? Why was live like this? “I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault!”

“It’s just- I feel bad for making you relive all those sad memories and poke around your private matters, like, you don’t know me and probably don’t want to tell me these things and I hate to make people feel uncomfortable and you deserve better-“

While John kept rambling about how sorry and probably ill-fitted he was for this position, Alexander decided that this soft empathic cinnamon roll was going to keep his case no matter what. He didn’t want some stone-faced tree of a detective to ask him about his life, no, if he had to talk about this, it would be with John and this wasn’t up for debate! He didn’t know why he felt so strongly about this because so far, he barely knew the man despite hitting it off fairly well from the beginning but now that he did, there was no going back. He would figure out what made this man so special.

Finally, he decided to have mercy on the poor boy who appeared to be on the verge of tears. “John, don’t worry so much, okay? I don’t exactly enjoy talking about my dead mother or the circumstance that I was raped when I was on my way home from a strip club. Not exactly the first impression I would’ve wanted to make, but things are as they are and while I’m angry about what happened, I can’t think of anyone I’d rater talk to right now.”

John looked at him in utter surprise. “What do you mean? You don’t even know me.”

“Exactly. Would you like to tell your brother in detail about how you stripped and forcefully entered and fucked until you bled? ‘Cause I sure as hell don’t! You don’t know me, yet you care. That’s like the perfect combination. Laf would only tear up and coddle me, not that they aren’t doing this already and my, well, I guess you could call him my surrogate father, he’d be fussy too and very overeager and he’d probably butt into your investigation. I love them but this isn’t what I need right now.”

Laurens had to admit that this made sense. When he thought about it, he’d probably prefer speaking with someone he’d never have to see again too. Yet, he had to wonder… “What do you mean when you say your surrogate father would butt into the investigation?”

“Oh, actually he’s Laf’s adoptive father. When I met them in high school they introduced me to their foster family. They would’ve adopted me as well but I gained independence at age 16 didn’t want this to change. He’s a cop too. Kind of, I guess, he’s a captain. Maybe you even know him. His name is George Washington.”

John’s eyes widened comically. This was bound to complicate things. “Captain George Washington is your surrogate father?”

“Yes. I take it you know him?”, he inquired not exactly sure how else to take Laurens reaction.

“Well, yes. He’s my boss.”

“Oh.”, Alex said in realization, “Wait, does this mean you have to tell him what happened? Is he going to find out? He can’t know!” Panic constricted his throat at the thought of Washington finding out about the attack. It would be embarrassing and he really didn’t see forward to the moment George was told his youngest surrogate son was working in a strip club. Both George and Lafayette kept offering to pay for his tuition fees and the rent, but Alex refused to be financially dependent on them and with the Stripper job four nights a week and his scholarship, he was off relatively well. Washington however wouldn’t approve of it and he was too tired for having this talk.

“I-“, John thought about the possibilities. Due to conflict of interest he could pass the case on to another station, but this would only go over Wasington and after what Alex had just told him, he doubted this would be a good solution. Could he keep it a secret? Just lie when the Captain asked about the case or the state of his investigations? No, that wouldn’t work either because he had to turn in his reports and he couldn’t lie in them seeing that these were official papers that would be needed for the trial at the latest. “I’m sorry but he’ll find out once he reads your name in the report. Maybe we could call him so you can tell him yourself and he won’t get a heart attack. Or-“

“Or?”, he silently prayed. He didn’t want to have George read his very graphic statement about how this man had raped him nor see the photos that had been taken of him in the hospital

“Well, I could ask him not to read the report when I hand it in. I’d have to explain why, of course, but I wouldn’t have to go into detail so much about what happened to you.”

Alexander found the situation everything but perfect, still this was better than the alternative and he was grateful Laurens was willing to trouble himself like that. “I guess, I could live with that.”, he finally said, a tired smile playing on his lips. “It would also be very much appreciated if you could spare the information I work at a strip club when you talk to GWash.”

“Will do, but where does he think you work at?”, John grinned.

“The café with Eliza and Angelica, my ex and her sister.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, as you probably can imagine, I’d like not to have that talk with my surrogate father.”

“I understand.”, Laurens glanced at his wristwatch founding it was already half past eleven. He didn’t have any appointments for today, but he should speak with Lafayette since they had found Alex as far as he was concerned and he needed a witness statement from Mr. Muligan as well to complete his report. Not to forget he was to talk with the people who lived near the crime scene and the manager of the club, a certain James Monroe. So, he would be quite busy until he’d talk to Captain Washington before he went off duty at 5:30pm. “Do you have an idea when your friends are coming back? I need their testimonies as well.”

Alex suppressed a yawn. “Herc is working as an apprentice in this trendy tailoring in Harlem. He usually gets off at 1pm but he might be back earlier today because of you know, this whole thing. As for Laf, they’re probably sitting on the floor in front of the flat texting Herc obscene things.” They tended to do this a lot. He’d never forget that one time they’d accidentally send those pictures in their group chat. Never had he thought of himself as prude and he was by no means a blushing virgin or easily scandalized, but man, his friends were some kinky little shits.

“Oh.”, John blushed, “I kinda don’t want to interrupt _that_.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. While he surely wasn’t to think of the investigating detective in his case as cute, John Laurens simply made that impossible. “Yeah, trust me you really don’t want that. But if you want to, I can look for them. I’ve already seen pretty much everything of them.”

“Err, thank you for the offer but I’m pretty sure they’re going to actually kill me if I let you stand up while you’re on bedrest.”

While Alexander had to admit that this was a fair point, he wasn’t going to give in that easily. He didn’t want Laurens to think of him as a fragile powerless boy who wasn’t able to fight his own battles or decide by himself. “And how are you going to stop me?”

“I’ll appeal to your common sense?”, the taller man offered not exactly sure what he was to say.

“Bold of you to assume I’m capable of such!”, he joked getting up swaying. He managed to make two steps towards the door before his legs gave out and he stumbled. John reacted fast enough and caught him just in time. While Alex hated his body betraying him like this, the feeling of being pressed to John’s broad chest and muscular arms holding him up was pretty nice. “Point taken.”, he sighed letting the taller boy help him to get comfortable on the couch again.

A faint blush tainted Laurens cheeks as he felt Alexander lean into him for the split of a second, the blanket having slipped off his legs. The boy was too smooth for his own good. “The- err- your cover, I mean you might want to-“, he gestured at his legs trying not to stare at the very tight-fitting boxer shorts. He expected a sly remark or a suggestive comment, but much to his surprise Alex blushed pulling up the blanket and wrapping it around him middle. Maybe he wasn’t as cocky as he pretended to be. “Are you all right?”, he asked feeling like this was a reasonable question after having him literally fall into is arms.

“Yeah, sure. Just tired, I guess.”, he shrugged.

Looking more closely, John found that Alex indeed looked exhausted. Dark bags rimmed his clouded eyes and he looked paler than what was probably healthy. With all those medication and his stubborn refusal to slow down that was hardly surprising. Okay, it was time for a change of plans. “You know what, I’m going to leave you and come back in the evening to talk to your friends. In the meantime, I’ll question the other potential witnesses and talk to Washington while you take a nap or do whatever helps you to relax. What do you think?” It wasn’t how they usually handled those things but Jefferson wasn’t there and honestly, fuck the protocol!. Maybe he would even manage to have his testimony written down by then and could have Hamilton subscribe it already.

Alex thought about it. On the one hand, he enjoyed John’s presence immensely and definitely far more than he should. Then again, it sounded like a good plan and he really felt like taking a shower and maybe even a short nap. Oh, and he had to write someone to let him copy their notes and catch up on the subject material. “If that matches with your timetable.”, he finally offered.

“It does. Wait, I’ll give you my number. You can text or call me if you should have any questions and if you want, I could tell you later how the conversation with Washington went.”, John suggested trying not to think too hard about the circumstance he was about to give a cute boy his private number. This was business and Alexander was a victim he was to help not to seduce.

Alexander raised his eyebrows a smug grin on his lips when he was handed the business card. “I’d like you to call me.”, he winked quickly followed by a yawn making John shake his head in amusement.

“Get some rest, Alexander.”, he said softly getting up, “And I know we aren’t friends or anything but if you want to talk about what happened, you can always text me.” It had been stupid to add this, John knew but it was hard to keep one’s distance in cases like this and he liked Alexander. The least he could do was to offer his help, especially after what Alex had said before.

“Thank you. I know you aren’t obliged to do this and I appreciate the offer.” And he meant it. John was really going out of his way to make sure he was comfortable. If every cop was so considerate, he’d feel a whole lot better about their jurisdiction.

“Of course.”, he put out his arm in order to shake hands with Hamilton, but instead he was pulled into a hug. For a second, he was shocked not able to remember when he’d ever been hugged after a questioning, but finally he relaxed letting Alex pull him closer. The boy probably needed all the comfort he could get and he was willing to provide.

Alex broke away and he left with the promise to text him as soon as he had new information.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took me so long!! I had an operation a couple of days ago and didn't feel up to writing much:( Thank you guys for your patience and leave me a comment?

“So, you’re trying to tell me your detective boyfriend is working for George?! Why are not freaking out about this? I thought George knowing would be your worst-case scenario!?”

Alex groaned. Fifteen minutes after John had left and he’d been about to fall asleep, Lafayette had barged into the living room pestering him with questions about their conversation. He had never liked the quiet before, but right now he’d really relish a little peace.

“He isn’t my boyfriend and he’ll ask him not to read the report so he won’t know the details. Also, I _am_ freaked out about this but let’s face the truth, Washington would’ve found out anyway. You know how he’s somewhat an omnipotent being and always knows shit. Besides, cops _talk_.”

“Fine and what about the first name-“

Sighing, Alex got up from the couch stumbling over to the bathroom. He wouldn’t get any sleep right now that was for sure, so he might as well take a shower first.

“ _Mon_ _ami_ , where are you going?”

“I’m going to take a fucking shower!”, he groaned. Knowing George Washington, he would turn up on their doorstep sooner rather than later and he wouldn’t fancy his surrogate father having to see him like this. Hell, nobody needed to see him like that!

“Okay, let me help you. I don’t want you to fall over or pass out.”

“Honestly, Laf, I’ll be fine. I don’t need your assistance.”

“Fine my ass!”, the older one huffed, “Come on, let me mother you!”, they added playfully shoving him. It hadn’t been a strong push but almost knocked Alexander off is feet. Another prove their friend should take up on their offer. “And there really isn’t something I haven’t seen before.”

“Laf!”, he sighed exasperatedly. He really wasn’t in the mood to discuss this and he was usually up for a debate 24/7.

“But it’s true!” Was this what it was about? Alexander had never been shy. They had been naked around each other countless of times before and it never seemed to have been a problem. Where did all this come fro- _oh_.

Alex could pinpoint the very moment Lafayette understood. He didn’t want his dearest friend to see the bruises on his hips or the marks on his ass where this man had grabbed him. He didn’t want them to watch him as he desperately tried to wash away the evidence of his shame and failure or the panic in his eyes when he realized no amount of water and soap could clean him from the filth this man had left on him. “I get along.”, he said firmly.

“Okay.”, they gave in, “I won’t come in but please leave the door unlocked in case something happens, okay?”

Alex nodded trying to look everywhere but his friend’s face which was given their height, actually not that difficult. He grabbed the sweatpants Lafayette had given him what felt like hours ago and made his way to the bathroom.

Once he heard the sound of the door falling shot behind him, he let himself slide down against the wall and put his head into his hands. The past few hours had been an emotional holler coaster ride and he was still recovering from the concussion and the aftereffect of the medication. His worried friends. The throbbing pain. Washington who was going to go into worried parent mood as soon as he found out. The cute detective. The memories of the past night. His studies and the fear of getting behind. This was simply too much to happen in the span of only a few hours.

“Alexander? Are you okay in there, _mon petite lión_?” he heard Lafayette’s voice close to the door, “I can hear your erratic breathing from here.”

He cursed inwardly. _Control yourself_! Once the water was on, he could breath as hard and panic as much as he wanted. “I’m good, just got a little dizzy.”, he lied through clenched teeth. It was better than telling his friend he was on the verge of an anxiety attack as he spoke.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in? I mean, I could look away or close my eyes-“

“Oh my god, yes! I’ll be fine! Don’t you have to like clean the house or hide your porn collection in case Washington comes over?”, he teased hoping to drown out the panic in his voice.

“I think George will be focused on other things.”, Laf snorted and much to Alex’s relieve they indeed sounded less concerned and more amused. At least, for the moment.

“Like interrogating your boyfriend?”

“Hercules isn’t my boyfriend.”, they contradicted.

“Yeah, he’s only the guy you frequently bang. As long as you put it like that, Washington is going to be ecstatic!”, Alex grinned as he heard Lafayette on the other side of the door gasp for air indignantly.

“We won’t tell George about this, do you understand me, Alexander? Otherwise I might have to bring up the Pineapple Incident!”

“Don’t you dare! You promised not to mention this ever again!”

“I also promised Herc and I would stop doing it on the couch but guess what, sometimes I lie! If you excuse me now, I have to lock away my sex toy collection! Also, replace the condoms and the lube by floss while you’re in the bathroom.”

Alex smiled despite himself rolling his eyes at his friend’s childish behavior. At least, he had managed to distract Lafayette and not only them. He found he had actually stopped hyperventilating. Maybe it wasn’t his plan that had worked out but Lafayette’s.

He quickly stripped out of his clothes making a point in not looking down at himself or in the mirror on his way to the shower. Not waiting until the water got warm, he stepped under the steam closing his eyes and letting the tears fall freely.

\- - - - - - -

Tentatively, John knocked onto the door that led to Captain George Washington’s office. He had dreaded this moment ever since Alex had told him who his surrogate father was. As long as he’d been able to, he’d procrastinated it but talking to the people who lived near the crime scene had only taken so long and apparently, the club Alex was working at wouldn’t open until the evening.

That was how he found himself in front of his superior’s office at 3o’clock in the afternoon about to tell his boss that his foster-son had been raped and beaten up and ask him to stay out of his case. Well, that sure was going to be a lot of fun!

“Come in!”

 _Showtime_!

“Ah, detective Laurens! Take a seat! I wanted to talk with you anyway. How is working without Jefferson?”, Washington had leaned back in his chair looking at him expectantly.

“Honestly, sir, it’s an immense relief.”, he didn’t want to imagine how the first meeting between Alex and Thomas would’ve went. Then again, he would’ve like to see Hamilton destroying his partner. “But that’s not why I’m here.”, he closed the door. He didn’t want any more people than necessary to know. “Sir, I- it’s about the case I’m working on.”

Washington raised his eyebrows. It was obvious something was off given the younger man’s nervousness and the fact he apparently didn’t want them to be interrupted. “Speak your heart, you have my undivided attention, detective.”

“I-“, John played with his fingers looking down at the file in his hands. It was a preliminary report of the events as Alex had portrayed them, the photos he’d taken on the crime scene and the assessment of Dr. Hosack. “As you might remember I was assigned a new case yesterday. A horrible crime. The victim was assaulted and raped in an alley on his way from work.”

“The victim was male? Does he cooperate? Talking to male victims of rape can be complicated because many of them deny what happened afraid of what-“

“Yes, sir, he cooperates. Actually, I even wrote the report about his testimony already. He only has to subscribe it.”

The captain frowned not getting what possibly could’ve put off his detective if not this. He reached for the file in order to look for himself since he wasn’t getting the answers he needed from Laurens, but John pulled away cradling the record to his chest almost protectively. “What-“

“Sir, I have to ask you not to read this.”

“Why?”

John swallowed. “Because the name of the victim is Alexander Hamilton.”

“Alex?! Where is he now? Is he still in hospital? Do you know who did this?”

Never before had he witnessed a comparable reaction from Washington. His usually so composed captain was falling apart under his eyes concern eating him away. For once, he was to be the voice of reason and he didn’t like this one bit. “Sir, you need to stay calm. He’s alright so far and currently at home with”, he hesitated if only for a second, “your other son. I mean kid. We don’t have a suspect yet, but we found DNA traces at the crime scene, so if we’re lucky and the offender’s already in the system, we’ll know within 48hours.”

Washington nodded distractedly running his fingers through his nonexistent hair. “I need to see him.”, he finally decided standing up and almost knocking over his chair in the process.

Laurens could stop him before he left the office. “Wait! Sir, please, you really are in no state to drive right now!”

“I’ll call a cab.”, Washington said still as determined throwing over his coat.

“I really don’t think that would be a good idea, Captain. When I left he was about to pass out from exhaustion and he’s probably asleep right now. By all due respect, Sir, if you barge in there like this now, you’ll only upset him and he really is in need of a break.”

George didn’t say anything but he stopped getting dressed looking at him with blank eyes.

“I think you can trust Lafayette to take good care of him for the time being. Take a few hours to calm down and if it’s okay with both of you, you could come along when I go there this evening to have him sign the report and question Lafayette.”

“Why would you question Lafayette?”, George frowned slowly stripping off his coat.

“He was the one who found him.”

“Dear lord!”, he made his way back to his desk letting himself fall into his chair. “Fine. I guess you’re right, but you have to fill me in on the details.”

John would count this as a success. Now, he had to decide which details Alex wouldn’t him mind sharing and what his captain wanted to hear. “I- He was found unconscious in an alley last night. He’d been knocked out and- well, he was raped. We quickly figured out his name thanks to his ID but I didn’t know you knew him otherwise I would’ve called sooner. The doctor diagnosed with a concussion and a fractured rip. I couldn’t question him in hospital because it was so late already, so I was only able to question him today.”

“How was he?”

“Well, the first thing he did when we met was to ask him about my political believes. He would only talk to me once I answered.”, Actually, the first thing Alex had done was to flirt with him but Washington didn’t need to know that.

George huffed out a laugh, “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

“Honestly, Sir, he seemed a bit worn out but he’s a strong man.”

Washington gave him a grateful smile, before his features twisted into a bemused expression once again. “Why doesn’t he want me to read this?” _Why didn’t he call?_

John sighed. This was getting more personal than he’d hoped it would and while he admired the captain deeply, yes, maybe even thought of him as a father figure, he really didn’t feel comfortable speculating on such a private affair. “I think you’d better ask him this yourself but based on what I was told he was embarrassed to have you read in such detail about what that man did to him. I mean, it makes sense. I’d rather have my dick ripped off than telling my father about any of my sexual encounters and I don’t even like that guy!”, Too late he realized that the last part might’ve been a little graphic. He fought the blush spreading on his cheeks as he looked up at his superior.

“You still not talking to your father?”

“That bastard still isn’t talking to me!”, John huffed.

The older man sighed deeply reminding himself to call Henry Laurens to scream at him the next time he was in a very foul mood and invite John over to Thanksgiving dinner again this year. “Anyway, thank you, detective, I appreciate what you’re doing for me and my family. I’m glad I didn’t assign you to Lee, that surely wouldn’t have ended well.”

John chuckled. “One of us would’ve shot him for sure.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this.”, Washington suppressed a grin.

“So, I can text him to tell him you aren’t going to read his testimony and come with me later?”

“Yes”, he sighed, “You may. But also remind him to get plenty of rest and let Laf take care of him.”

A firm handshake sealed their deal and John left.

“Come on, Laf, give me the phone! It could be important! John said he wanted to tell me how the conversation with Washington went.”, Alex begged reaching for the phone his friend held high above his head.

“John, huh?”, they grinned. “Alright, alright. If it’s actually your detective you’re allowed to answer but only if you promise to take another nap after this.”

Once he’d come out of the shower, Lafayette had force-fed him and made him take another dose of medication before bullying him onto the couch head in their lap and a blanket thrown over the two of them. He had actually been dead tired and barely able to keep himself on his feet any longer, exhausted from crying and standing so long thus he’d been almost grateful for his friend’s fussing seeing that their concern distracted them from his red rimmed eyes and the scratches that were even more visible now that his face was clean and his wet hair was pulled up into a ponytail.

“Fine.”, he huffed, “But you have to wake me after 30minutes so I can finish my essay.”

“I will do no such thing, Alexander. You’ll give your body as much rest as it needs. Also, no electronic devices for the next 24 hours. The doctor said it would increase your headache.”

“Impossible! I’d get behind so much!”, Alex complained, “Today I slept more than I did all week and I took the pills and didn’t go to class. Self-care at its finest, so give me a break!”

“I’d give you a break if you gave yourself one! Also, the fact you got more sleep today than the rest of the week doesn’t exactly speak in your favor either, _mon_ _ami_. Don’t think I won’t tie you to the bed again because we both know I would do it in a heartbeat!”, they threatened watching Alex recoil with satisfaction. What most people didn’t know, Alexander’s stubbornness was only matched by those who were the closest to him. “Now, do you want the phone?”

Alex gave in for now reaching for his smartphone.

“What does he say?”, Lafayette asked curiously when Alex groaned curling up against him.

“He talked with Washington. They’re coming over this evening. Together.” Despite contrary belief, Alex had never craved attention, he only wanted people to listen to him thus he could prove them that he was more than anyone had bargained for when he’d come to America. Today, however, he really dreaded being the center of attention and wished for a black hole appearing underneath his feet and swallowing him.

“Are they going to stay for dinner? Ask him if he’s allergic to any foods and if he eats meat.”

“Laf, nobody is expecting you to cook.”, he sighed.

“I’m expecting myself to cook! Also, if George Washington comes over to visit us at this place, we’ll have a fucking feast. These are the rules.”

Alex had never felt less in need of a feast. His stomach was still cramping slightly from the sandwich he’d been forced to eat and he didn’t want to throw up in front of Washington or John. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t in the mood for company or talking about his latest trauma. Everything else would be nice. Maybe he’d manage to steal John away from Laf and talk about his ideas to improve their financial system. He was sure Lafayette wouldn’t mind being left to talk to his surrogate father while he was busy not talking about is feelings and emotions. “How would you like it if I slept through the whole evening?”

“Is this about you not wanting to talk with George?”

“I don’t mind speaking with him, I only don’t want to talk about _that_.”

Laf sighed stroking his hair, “I know, _mon_ _ami_ and I understand this is not easy for you.”

Alex quickly shot back a text to let John know their arrangement was more or less fine with them before he let Lafayette take his phone from him and surrendered to his best friend’s smothering. Yawning, he bedded his head to rest on Laf’s thigh.

Just when he was about to drift off under his friend’s watchful eyes, the door to their apartment was opened and he startled at the sound sitting up straight.

Lafayette groaned. His friend couldn’t have had a worse timing. Alex had finally exhausted himself enough to allow himself some much-needed rest. It probably would’ve been better to get him into his own room. “Hey, Hercules.”, they greeted their friend with a smile anyway.

“Hey, knuckleheads!”, he said scratching the back of his head awkwardly, “I kinda hoped you wouldn’t be up, Alex.”

The younger boy frowned leaning back against Lafayette once again yet making no move to resume their previous position. “And why’s that?”

“I assume it has something to do with me coming here to bring you the notes I took during lecture today.”, Aaron Burr stepped up behind Hercules expression unreadable like always.

Lafayette’s smile turned into a glare. “You are the worst, Burr.”

Alex had sat up straight again not wanting his friend and rival -yes, they had a weird relationship- to see him weak and defeated like this. He elbowed his friend in the side. To be honest, he’d never understood why they hated Burr so much. Apart from the fact, he had basically no opinions, his indifference and that inscrutability was pretty much his only character trait, he’d found in Burr a reliable friend. Aaron had been the first person he’d met in New York. They had bonded about being orphans and despite their differences, Burr had always been kind and endeavored to keep him out of trouble. Without success usually, but still. The two should get along better. “Burr, it’s nice to see you!”, he greeted the older boy while Laf kept grimacing.

“It’s good to see you as well. To be completely honest, I didn’t expect you to find you here alive and well.”

“What do you mean?”, Alex asked in confusion. It was fairly untypical for Aaron to visit uninvited and even more so, show up unannounced.

“I can’t recall a time where you missed a lecture. I’m pretty sure you had pneumonia once and were delirious with fever but you still attended. Sure, you fainted on your way out but you were there.” Much to Alex relief he ignored the following gasp and the “What?! When did this happen?” and continued, “Forgive me my curiosity, I simply wondered what could possibly keep you from class where everything else failed. Also, what happened to your face?”

Aaron Burr and curiosity. Two things he’d never thought could be connected in a sentence. He wished he could focus on this very interesting occurrence but he had to make up a lie about the past night. And fast. There was no way in hell, he’d tell Burr about what happened. “Just the usual, you know. Had a fun night, got drunk, talked too much, was punched by a republican and ended up being fucked so thoroughly in a restroom that I had to call Laf to pick me up because I couldn’t walk anymore. Actually, I still can’t which is why I didn’t attend class today. I would’ve called you later for the notes. Thank you for your consideration.”

“Oh. While I certainly wouldn’t have needed to know that and regret asking, you’re welcome.” Aaron squinted at him as if trying to determine if he was to be trusted in his statement. However, every inquiry he might’ve had was quietened by Lafayette glaring at him. It wasn’t that he was particularly scared of them but he wouldn’t make the mistake to underestimate them either. Finding out the reason of Alexander’s absence wasn’t worth the trouble. He put down the papers with the notes scribbled all over them. “I won’t bother you any longer then. See you on Friday!”

Burr vanished as quickly as he’d come leaving the three friends in wonder and confusion about his whole appearance.

“If I didn’t know him, I’d say he’d care about you.”, Mulligan remarked.

“Why are you even friends with him?”

“He’s a nice guy and he bought me a coffee when we first met.”, Alexander shrugged too tired to ask Lafayette why they hated Burr so much.

“Well, that was definitely strange.”, the oldest stated staring at the door Burr had vanished through only a few seconds ago, then turning back to Alex, “You know, you didn’t have to tell him anything. I would’ve taken care of him.”

Alexander shook his head. “He was only worried and I don’t need people to be suspicious.” It had hurt to say these things, to hear himself claim he’d wanted it, that it had been consensual. To joke about being fucked so hard he couldn’t walk, it had been disgusting. Still, it was better than telling the truth or not saying anything at all.

“Anyway,”, Hercules started before Lafayette had the chance to make a sly remark, “How do you feel?”

“Good. Very well. Fantastic, actually.”, he lied.

”He was just about to take a nap. Detective Laurens was here a while ago. Talked to Alexander while I texted you.”

The blush that crept up the older man’s cheeks at this confirmed Alexander’s suspicion what they’d been texting about. He could’ve lived well without that knowledge.

“Do you two maybe want to go to the bedroom? I wanted to pick up something to eat but the little Italian place is closed on Wednesdays and I would’ve had to wait at least an hour at the diner, so I thought I could cook for us and I don’t want the noise to distract you from sleeping.”

Alex shrugged not really caring where he went as long as he’d get away from this fussing and prodding and worrying.

Lafayette on the other hand, apparently liked Hercule’s idea as they grabbed Alexander and hoisted him up.

Alex hissed in pain as he felt his ribs protesting at the sudden movement and all air was pressed out of his lungs. “Laf!”, he gasped, “Fractured rib! Fractured rib!” At least he had an excuse now not to be carried around, a thing Lafayette and by now even Hercules tended to do when he wouldn’t listen to them. Stayed up until 4am in the morning? Carry him to bed. Didn’t want to see a doctor when sick? Pick him up like a toddler and place him into the car. Start a fight with a dude twice his size? Take him under the arm and bring him outside while that motherfucker was laughing his ass of. It was annoying to say the least.

“ _Mon dieu_! I completely forgot!”, Lafayette put him down guilt written all over their face. “Are you okay, _mon petit lion_? I didn’t hurt you too much, _non_?”

“Don’t worry, Laf. No harm done. Just let me walk by myself for now.”, he got up on slightly wobbly legs. Hercules reached out for him to offer support but he simply shook his head making his way to his room by himself.

“I’ll be with you in a minute.”, Lafayette promised, “Get in bed already and don’t even think about touching your laptop!”

Honestly, the only reason Alex listened to his friend sometimes was because they reminded him of his mother who used to drive him nuts with her fussing and her smothering as well. Well, that and they could get scary as hell. He rolled his eyes in annoyance but didn’t protest before he closed the door behind him leaving Lafayette to fill Hercules in on what he’d missed. This called for a nightshift once again.

Alex woke up briefly when the mattress dipped behind him and he was tucked in thoroughly. A warm hand on his cheek reminded that there was nothing to fear and he didn’t have to worry about being in danger as long as he was here with his friends.


End file.
